Kevin Morotto charged with four homicides in Montevideo, 180-day preventive detention
Kevin Morotto, 28, was detained in Santa Catalina and formally charged with four homicides that occurred in July. He will serve 180 days of preventive detention.
Major operation in Santa Catalina: Morotto detained after months of investigation
Kevin Morotto, 28, was charged on Friday with four homicides and must serve 180 days of preventive detention whilst the courts continue the investigation, according to subrayado.com.uy.
The detention took place during the morning in the Santa Catalina neighbourhood, west of Montevideo, in the framework of a major police operation involving approximately 150 officers. The Homicides Department of the General Directorate of Complex Cases led the procedure, with participation from the Republican Guard, the Unified Command Centre, Traffic Police and the Directorate of Police Aviation.
Around 20 search warrants were executed in the neighbourhood. Police seized four pistols, six magazines, a box with 50 rounds of ammunition, one Roni kit, two high-displacement motorcycles—one of them reported as stolen—drugs in quantities and types yet to be determined, mobile phones and vehicles. These seizures resulted in the detention of four other people, aged 61, 31, 27 and 31. A 28-year-old man was also arrested for contempt of court. In parallel, searches were carried out in prisons to seize items of interest to the investigation.
The four homicides linked to Morotto
Investigators established Morotto's participation in three episodes that resulted in four deaths, following an analysis of information and field work, according to the Interior Ministry.
The first case occurred on 3 July at the intersection of Primera al Norte and Palmeras, in the Maracaná neighbourhood. The victim was a 41-year-old man who was arriving to work at a warehouse in the area.
The second episode took place on 18 July at Constitución and La Diligencia: a double homicide in which two men, aged 53 and 33, were killed. An 18-year-old youth was shot and wounded in the same incident.
The third case was recorded on 28 July at Burgues and Pedro Margat, opposite an Inisa shelter. A 19-year-old youth who was serving a semi-open regime for a robbery offence was murdered there. In the investigation of this homicide, a 26-year-old youth was also detained.
The Interior Ministry stated that the evidence gathered determines Morotto's participation in all four homicides, something that in previous investigations had not been able to be proven due to lack of compelling evidence.
A history of violence since age 15
Morotto has four criminal records for robbery, aggravated theft, firearm discharge, firearm possession and handling stolen goods. He was questioned about homicides on six occasions: the first in July 2015, when he was 16 years old, and the most recent in January 2025. In 2014, at age 15, he had already been questioned for theft and robbery.
In March 2025, the Homicides Department captured him for staging a shooting. He was convicted of firearm discharge, carrying a firearm in public places and private violence, and served six months in prison.
Morotto operates in Santa Catalina, but the dispute over drug sales led him to attempt to gain territory in nearby areas, such as the Maracaná neighbourhood, close to Los Bulevares, where investigators located him in several violent incidents.
Three murder attempts in less than a year
In less than a year, Morotto survived three planned attacks.
In September 2025, when leaving prison, he was shot in the exComcar car park when three people fired at him from a vehicle whilst a friend waited for him in another car. He was seriously wounded and was taken to a healthcare facility.
On 20 July of this year, Morotto and four other people were driving along route 74, at the height of Joaquín Suárez, in Canelones, after purchasing a car in Barros Blancos, when they were attacked by gunfire. At least 30 shots were fired at the location. Morotto was shot again and seriously wounded.
On 11 August, he had gone to Hospital Maciel to continue treatment of those wounds. Whilst he was in Ciudad Vieja, near midday, criminals passing in a car shot at him in the street. Around 20 shots were fired. When police arrived, there was nobody at the scene: neither the shooters nor the victims.
Ten days after that last attack, Morotto was detained during the major operation in Santa Catalina and placed at the disposal of the courts.
"It is presumed that the commission of the acts was motivated by a clash between criminal gangs operating in Santa Catalina," stated the Interior Ministry.
Source: Google News UY — Montevideo